For years, Midtown Fort Collins has struggled to find its own identity and sense of place.

Now, with new businesses moving in, renovation of Foothills Mall and a city focused on increasing mobility and safety along the 5-mile corridor, Midtown is on the move.

To build off recent action, the South Fort Collins Business Association is eyeing whether a business improvement district would help fund improvements and provide a cohesive identity for the stretch of College Avenue and Mason Street from Prospect Avenue to the South Transit Center near Harmony Road.

The association is in the early stages of determining the feasibility of a BID. If it decides to go ahead, businesses within the proposed district would determine the exact boundaries, funding mechanism, governance structure and priority projects.

"There's still a lot of work to be done," said Luke McFetridge, president of SFCBA, which is spearheading the BID efforts. McFetridge envisions an area that has its own identity, not unlike Old Town.

"You can definitely tell you're in a different area," when you drive south along College Avenue out of Old Town, he said.

In the first of three meetings Tuesday with business and property owners within the potential business district, consultant Jamie Licko laid out the potential structure and benefits of a BID.

The district and its size and scope would have to be approved by a majority of owners with 50 percent of acreage and property value in the area. Funds for the district would likely come from an additional mill levy assessed on the 262 commercial properties in the area.

According to Licko's calculations, Midtown's commercial property is valued around $135 million. An additional 1 to 5 mills would generate between $135,400 and $677,000. A mill is a tax of one-tenth of a cent per dollar value.

Most businesses would likely pay $100 to $150 a month, Licko said. Larger businesses, such as the mall, would pay substantially more.

McFetridge said he would try to leverage that money with a matching contribution from the city, similar to how the city works with the Downtown Development Authority.

"If I'm going to impose taxes on myself, I'm only going to do it if there are contributions from the city," said McFetridge, regional property manager at NewMark Merrill Mountain States, which owns Fort Collins Marketplace in Midtown, anchored by Albertsons.

Money generated could be used for infrastructure improvements, maintenance, beautification, economic development, marketing, signage or other needs as members determine.

Kriss Spradley of Spradley Barr auto dealership said he was mixed on a BID's benefits to businesses like his south of Harmony Road. Spradley Barr has locations on College Avenue south and north of Harmony Road.

Midtown by the numbers

Midtown is a 5-mile stretch of College Avenue and Mason Street running between Prospect Road and the city's South Transit Center just south of Harmony Road.

• Commercial properties: 262

• Assessed value: $135 million

• Potential BID assessment: 1 to 5 mills

What's happening in Midtown

• MAX, the city's bus rapid transit system, opened in May.

• The $313 million renovation of Foothills Mall is underway and expected to open in October 2015.

• Trader Joe's is expected to open at The Square, 3500 S. Collegee Ave., early next year.

• Sierra Trading Post is expected to open at The Square by the end of the year.

• Conn's Home Plus furniture, appliance and electronics store is expected to open in mid-October at the former Toys R Us building, 120 Bockman Drive.

• Dunkin' Donuts is slated for an October opening at 2801 S. College Ave.